Evaporator



F. A. SMITH EVAPORATOR Feb 2, 1943.

Filed July 19, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l F. A. SMITH Feb. 2;, 1943.

EVAPORATOR Filed July 19, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 by one leg of the legs of the unit and having the same construcprovide a U-shaped Patented Feb. 2, 1943 EVAPORATOR Frederick A. Smith, Waukegan, 111., assignor to Houdailie-Hershey Corporation,

Detroit, Mich,

a corporation of Michigan Application July 19, 1941, Serial -No. 403,134

8 Claims. (01. 62-126) invention relates to heat exchangers and more particularly to sheet metal evaporator units having laterally extending plates substantially identical with shelves provided therein.

According to this invention there is now provided a U-shaped evaporator unit composed of secured-together embossed metal sheets defining header chambers andjrefrigerant flow passageways therebetween. The unit has a sheet metal refrigerated shelf spanning the legs of the U. A plate or wall also extends laterally outward from the top of one of the legs of the U-shaped memher. This wall and the shelf are composed of embossed secured-together metal sheets defining a refrigerant flow passageway therebetween and one of the features of this invention includes duplication of structure in the wall and in the shelf so that only one set of forming dies need be used to make both members. If desired the wall member can be somewhat larger than the shelf member but a mere trimming of the wall member adapts it for use as a shelf.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of but a single inlet and a single outlet for the evaporator units while at the same time effecting refrigerant flow through the laterally extending wall, the shelf, and the U-shaped unit.

It is, then, an object of this invention to provide sheet metal heat exchangers having a pinrality of substantially identical parts.

A further object of this invention is to provide U-shaped sheet metal evaporator units having refrigerated shelves spanning the legs thereof together with laterally extending walls of the same construction as the shelves.

A further and specifle object of this invention is to provide U-shaped sheet metal evaporator units with a laterally extending flat wall carried unit and a shelf bridging both tion as the wall.

Another limited object of this invention is to sheet metal evaporator unit having a refrigerated shelf bridging the legs of the U and a flat refrigerated wall extendinglaterally from one leg of the U, with refrigerant conducting tubes joining the wall with the shelf and also joining the shelf with the U-shaped unit proper whereby only one refrigerant inlet and one refrigerant outlet are necessary for flowing refrigerant through the wall, the shelf and the U-shaped unit.

Other and further objects of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed descriptions of the annexed sheets of drawings, which by way of preferred examples, illustrate one embodiment of the invention.

It should be understood that the invention is not limited to the single preferred embodiment shown on the drawings but includes many other embodiments within its scope.

On the drawings:

Figure l is a top plan view of an evaporator unit according to this invention.

Figure 2 is a front end elevational view of the unit shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the unit shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 4 is an isometric view of the laterally extending fiat wall for the unit illustrating, in dotted lines, the manner in which this wall can be converted into a shelf.

Figure 5 is an end elevational view showing a shelf formed from the wall illustrated in Figure 4.

As shown on the drawings:

In Figures 1 to 3, inclusive, the reference numeral l0 designates generally an evaporator unit according to this invention composed of a U- shaped part II, a refrigerated shelf I2 bridging the legs of the U-shaped part II, and a laterally extending refrigerated part I3 secured to one of the legs of the U-shaped part.

The U-shaped part II is composedof brazed or welded-together inner and outer metal sheets l4 and I5 respectively. The outer metal sheet I5 is embossed with a plurality of flutes i8 pi'oviding refrigerant-circulating ducts. Both the inner and the outer sheets are further embossed to provide a-pairof cylindrical headers H defining chambers communicating with the ducts provided bythe flute I6. These headers l1 are positioned in the legs of the U part II in spaced relation from. the top ends of the legs. The sheets l4 and I5 are further embossed to provide an upper header l8 in each leg of the U-shaped part II. The inner sheet [4 is embossed as at l9 to provide passageways connecting thechambers in the headers l1 and I8 of each leg.

The rear end of each top header l8 communi cates with a duct provided by a flute 20 embossed in the outer sheet l5. This flute 20 provides an exhaust passageway for removing spent refrigerant from the top headers and extends around the sides of the U-shaped part II into communication with a duct provided by a flute 2| on the inner sheet H at the bottom of the U- shaped part. This duct defined by the flute 2| receives an exhaust tube adapted for connec- .is the bottom wall of the shelf part I2.

tion with the suction iine to the compressor in a mechanical refrigeration system.

The bottom of the outer sheet I5 is embossed to provide a longitudinal inlet flute 23 communicating with each of the refrigerant expansion ducts provided by the flutes I6. The rear end of this flute 23 receives a tube 24 supplying refrigerant to the circulating ducts in the flutes I6 from the shelf part I2.

The U-shaped part II thus has side walls and a bottom enclosing a sharp freezing space 25 which contains the shelf part I2 therein. The upper ends of the side walls of the U-shaped part II are turned horizontally inward to provide flanges 26 for a purpose to be more fully hereinafter described.

The self part I2 is composed of a top metal sheet 30 and a bottom metal sheet 3I embossed to provide a flute 32 defining a serpentine duct for refrigerant. The sheets 3| and 32 are brazed or welded together and have downturned flanges 33 which are secured to the side walls of the U-shaped part II above the bottom of the part.

by rivets 34 as best shown in Figure 1.

The flute 32 in the bottom sheet 3| of the shelf receives the .t-ube 24 leading to the flute 23, in one enlarged end 32a thereof. The other enlarged end 32b of the flute 32 receives a tube 35 extending around the rear end of the U- shaped part H to the laterally extending plate part I3. Refrigerant thus flows from the plate part I3 through the duct in the flute 32, thence through the tube 24 into the duct provided in the flute 23.

The laterally extending plate portion I3 has the same construction as the shelf part I2 but is used in inverted position. The parts I2 and I3 are thus adapted to be made on the same forming dies and therefore only one set of diesis needed for both parts. As shown best in Figure 2, the plate part I3 has a top wall (H which Thus the part I3 is in inverted relation to the part 22. The top wall 3i has the identical flute 32 therein with the enlarged end 321) receiving the upper end of the tube 35 and with the other enlaiged end 3211 receiving a refrigerant supply tube 36.

The flange 28 on one leg of the U-shaped part II receives one marginal edge portion of the plate part I3 thereon. This marginal portion is secured to the flange in any suitable manner such as with rivets 31.

Both this flange 2S and the marginal end portion of the plate part are apertured as at 3B, and

the other flange 26 is similarly apertured to provide holes for supporting bolts or lugs to suspend the unit from the top wall of a refrigerator cabinet. The plate part I3 can have the other marginal edge portion apertured as at 39 to receive supporting bolts or lugs.

As shown in Figure 4 the plate part I3 is converted into the shelf part I2 by merely trimming off the marginal edge portion 40 thereof which normally fits on the flange 2B of the U-shaped part and by turning up the flanges 33. The shelf I2 shown in Figure 5 is thus readily made from the plate part I3 shown in Figure 4. In some instances it may not be necessary to trim ofl a marginal portion 40 of the plate I3 provided that the width of the U-shaped part is not materially less than the length of the plate.

The plate part serves either as a cooling wall for the main interior of the refrigerator cabinet or as a refrigerated top wall of a frozen food compartment which can be built under the wall I3 and alongside of the U-part II.

The refrigerant supplied through the tube 36 first passes through the duct in the flute 32 of the wall part I3 and then circulates through the tube 35 into the duct of the shelf part I2. After circulating through the duct in the shelf the refrigerant flows through the tube 24 into the duct provided in the inlet manifold flute 23 of the U-shapcd part II. Refrigerant is distributed by this inlet duct into the circulating ducts of the flutes I6. The refrigerant is discharged from these ducts into the lower headers I1 in each side wall of the U-shaped part. The spent refrigerant is then drawn through the passageways I8 into the upper headers I8 from which it is removed through the spent refrigerant duct provided by the flute 20. This duct communicates with the duct in the flute 2I and the spent refrigerant is thus discharged out of the entire unit Ill through the suction outlet tube 22.

From the above descriptions it will be understood that this invention deals with U-shaped sheet metal evaporator units having refrigerated shelves spanning the legs of the U and having laterally extending refrigerated plates on at least one leg of the U. An important feature of the invention resides in the use of identical constructions for both the refrigerated plate and the refrigerated shelf so that separate forming apparatus for the parts is not necessary. The plate wall is readily converted into the shelf by merely turning down flanges on marginal end portions thereof and, if necessary, by merely trimming off one of the marginal end portions to make the plate conform with the width of the U-shaped part.

I claim as my invention:

1. A sheet metal evaporator unit comprising a U-shaped part defining a sharp freezing chamber, a refrigerated shelf bridging the legs of the U-shaped part, and a laterally extending refrigerated plate mounted on one leg of the U-shaped part and extending laterally outward therefrom, said flat plate and said shelf having substantially identical constructions.

2. A sheet metal evaporator unit including a U-shaped part having side walls with horizontally flanged upper ends, a shelf part spanning the side walls in spaced relation above the bottom of the part, a refrigerated flat plate extending outwardly from the upper end of said U-shaped part and having a marginal end portion thereof secured to a horizontal flange of the U-shaped part.

3. A sheet metal evaporator unit including a U-shaped refrigerated part and a laterally extending flat wall refrigerated part, said U-shaped part having a substantially horizontal flange on the upper end of a side wall thereof and means securing a marginal end of said flat wall part to said flange.

4. A heat exchanger comprising a sheet metal part having side walls and a bottom defining fluid passageways therebetween, two substantially identical wall parts, each defining a refrigerant flow passageway, on of said wall parts bridging the side walls of the first mentioned part, the other of said wall parts extending laterallyoutward from one of the side walls of said first mentioned part, and means connecting the passageways of all of said parts.

5. A sheet metal U-shaped evaporator unit comprising a flrst pair of secured-together continuous metal sheets defining the the side walls first pair of sheets defining therebetween a plurality of refrigerant circulating ducts, a reirigerant distributing manifold duct communicating therewith and an exhaust duct for spent refrigerant, a second pair of secured-together contiguous metal sheets in said sharp freezing chamber spanning the side walls of the U and defining a refrigerantld uct, a third pair of secured-together contiguous metal sheets extending laterally from a side wall of the U secured to the top end of said side wall and defining a refrigerant duct, a refrigerant supply tube communicating with an end of the duct in said third pair of sheets remote from the sharp freezing chamber, a first connecting tube joining the other end of said duct in said third pair of sheets with the adjacent end of the duct in said second pair of sheets, and a second connecting tube joining the opposite end of the duct in said second pair of sheets with the manifold duct in said first pair of sheets whereby a single inlet and a single outlet connection serve to flow refrigerant through all of said ducts and tubes.

6. The method of making a U-shaped evaporator unit with a refrigerated shelf and a laterally extending refrigerated wall which comprises forming a sheet metal U-shaped evaporator part, forming two sets of embossed secured-together contiguous metal plates each providing a refrigerant flow passageway therethrough, securing one of said sets of plates on a side wall of the U-shaped part to support the set in laterally extending relation from said part, turning up flanges on the other of said sets of plates and securing said flanges to the side walls of the U- shaped part for providing a shelf in the U- shaped part. l

'7. The method of forming a U-shaped sheet metal evaporator unit with a laterally extending refrigerated wall and a refrigerated shelf in the sharp freezing chamber defined by the U-shaped part which comprises providing a U-shaped sheet metal evaporator part. forming two substantially identical sets of embossed secured-together metal plates, attaching one set to a side wall of the U-shaped part for extending laterally therefrom in cantilever fashion, bending flanges on opposed marginal end portions of. the-other set and securing said flanges to the side walls of the U-shaped part for forming a shelf spanning the legs of the U-sha'ped part.

8. A sheet metal evaporator unit comprising a U-shaped part composed of embossed securedtogether contiguous metal sheets defining a sharp freezing chamber and a refrigerant distributing duct, two substantially identical wall parts each composed of secured-together metal plates defining a refrigerant duct therebetween, means securing one of said wall parts to the U-shaped part in the sharp freeezing chamber defined thereby to form a shelf in the chamber, means connecting the other of said wall parts toa side wall of the -U-shaped part to extend laterally 

